SAN ANTONIO -- There wasn't one glaring error in the Sixers' loss to the Spurs on Thursday. There were mistakes along the way, plenty of them at that. After all, that's how they surrendered a seven-point lead and lost 102-86 (see Instant Replay).
But to point to a single player and say, "It's all on him," that wasn't the case.
Still, T.J. McConnell shouldered the responsibility for the Sixers' defeat.
"I didn't keep us together," McConnell said. "It's the job of the point guard to have everyone on the same page and I was crappy tonight. Yeah, they punched us in the mouth. We could have had chances to score, but that falls on me."
McConnell had four points, seven assists, four rebounds, two turnovers and a block in the first half, in which the Sixers led the Spurs 53-48. His statistical production slowed in the second half as the Spurs stole back the game. McConnell shot 0 for 3 from the field, grabbed a rebound, picked off two steals, was whistled for three fouls and committed a turnover. More significantly, he did not dish an assist.
"I just didn't have guys in the right spot," McConnell said. "That's my job to have them there. I didn't do my job."
Philadelphia 76ers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Looking at the game from his perspective, there was a dropoff between halves. There was more to the loss, however, than his floor leadership. The Spurs went on an 11-0 run in the third to erase the Sixers' lead. The Sixers got back within three points with 4:32 to play in the quarter, but subsequently committed four turnovers and trailed by six after three. In the fourth, the Sixers were outscored, 23-13, while turning the ball over another seven times. They shot a combined 10 for 41 (24.4 percent) from the field in the second half.
"I think that our defense was solid to hold the Spurs to that type of number late in the third and it ballooned out with our turnovers," Brett Brown said. "That combined with just not making shots - open shots - is a killer on the road against anybody, let alone the team with the second-best record in the NBA."
The Sixers played shorthanded without Joel Embiid (left knee contusion), Robert Covington (right hand contusion) and Nerlens Noel (upper-respiratory infection). Brown opted not to play Gerald Henderson in anticipation of the upcoming heavy game schedule.
Games like this don't sit well with McConnell, though. He may have earned the role of starting point guard, but he still approaches every day like it's an audition and he's fighting to keep a job. It's in his personality to be hard on himself; that never-be-complacent attitude is what got him to the NBA as an underdog in the first place.
"[I wanted to] just have our team be organized," McConnell said. "I thought we did miss some open ones, but in general have our team on the same page. I was just really bad tonight."
After McConnell left the locker room visibly disappointed, rookie Daric Saric offered up an encouragement. Like McConnell, Saric wears his heart on his sleeve when he plays. McConnell has helped Saric in situations when he's been his own toughest critic, and Saric hopes McConnell can give himself some slack, too.
"Of course you're a basketball player and you come at this level … you don't think about money. You think about your performance, you think about how you're doing, how you lead your team, did you give one hundred percent every game?" Saric said. "Of course he tried to give one hundred percent. He tried to do the best for the team. Sometimes you lose the ball, sometimes coach sees a different situation. Of course it's a little bit hard on him.
"But they teach me in the NBA - the game is done, you need to forget, you need to focus for another game. That can be my advice to T.J."
